After allowing my body 2 weeks to acclimatize to Kenya with relatively lighter workouts, I was ready to start interval training in Week 3. With all track work to be done on the dirt track of Kamariny (suspected to be ~10m long), I did my best to base my workouts off both effort and pace, rather than just the pace which was showing on my Garmin FR 630.

Day 1

AM: 11 miles easy

PM: 6 miles recovery

Day 2

AM: 3 miles warmup, Tempo 800s – 12 x 800m (~2:35), 400m recovery jog (1:45 – 2:00), 3 miles cooldown

PM: 5 miles recovery

Day 3

AM: 9 miles easy

PM: 6.5 miles recovery

Day 4

AM: 3.75 miles warmup, 40min hilly fartlek, 3 miles cooldown

*Fartleks in Kenya are BRUTAL. Over 100 athletes start together on an undulating dirt road. Start behind a huge pack, and you will find yourself in a could of dust for the entire session. The huge number of bodies right smack in front of you also mean you might find it hard to watch your footing and consequently sprain an ankle.

Start too far in front, however, and you’re running with the big boys, running their fast sections of the fartlek at virtually full sprint. On dirt and rocks. At 7800ft altitude. Fail to keep up, and dozens of athletes brush past you as they sprint their way up to the leaders. Just imagine the start of a cross country race – now picture that for an entire 40 minutes, and you get a Kenyan fartlek scenario.

These sessions are like races for the Kenyans – there’s always the younger athletes trying to prove themselves and earn a chance to race outside Africa. A chance to make money that can change their lives forever.

PM: 5 miles recovery

Day 5

9.75 miles easy

Day 6

18.75 miles long run (first 12.15 miles relatively flat, last 6.6 miles uphill)

Day 7

REST

Week total: 100 miles

My first week back in full training since acclimatizing to the altitude and environment was a success, and I had two good workouts. The experience of training on Kamariny, admist hundreds of other Kenyan athletes of all standards, all coming together to chase their dreams, is an amazing on that I will remember for the rest of my life.

4 weeks to go. Lots more fitness to be built, and lots more experiences to be had.

-Rui